Poker Bluffing Tips

Poker Bluffing Tips

Learn the best poker bluffing tips to help you improve your game and get one over on your opponents

There is an art to bluffing which takes time and skill to fully master

To increase your winning chances playing Texas Hold’em, you must move beyond only playing the very best hands, and learn some poker bluffing tips, otherwise you risk being extremely predictable to play against. Poker bluffing tips can be very profitable when used in the correct situations. The following article will explain several possible scenarios in which you should attempt to use your poker bluffing tips against your opponent(s). It will also suggest some scenarios when it is not such a good time to try a bluff.

Bluffing and winning has two positive benefits, not only did you make money on a poor hand, you also get the thrill of knowing you made your opponent lay down a better poker hand (which can be very satisfying).

How do you master the art of bluffing? It is important that you tell a believable story when you bluff, otherwise your opponents will look you up more often than you would like. Ask yourself what hands you are representing given the pre-flop actions, the community cards dealt, and subsequent action in the hand. If your bluff can look credible and you can expect better hands to fold, you should go for it. Just don’t try it all the time or you will be bluffing too much.

Situations in which it is favourable to use poker bluffing tips in Texas Hold’em

1. Semi bluffing is a great tool to have in your poker arsenal. This type of bluff is backed up by a drawing hand with a decent chance of improving even when you get called, so it means you’re not taking massive risks to win pots when you don’t expect to have the best hand. For example, let’s say that the flop comes 8c-9d-3s and you get an open ended straight draw to the nuts and a backdoor flush draw. You can make a bet with confidence because even though you have nothing yet, you have great potential to make a strong hand, and a bet can take down the pot straight away.

2. When you are playing against very good players - they will read the board and make mathematical calculations of the possible outcome. An example is when the board shows 3 cards of the same suit, you raise on the river holding the nut flush blocker, with no flush in your hand. The good player folds assuming you made your flush. A novice player would not even have assumed a flush was a possibility, they will only consider their own holdings. As such, it is important to know your opponents well when attempting to represent strength.

3. When only one opponent is playing against you, most players will give you the benefit of the doubt when facing resistance. A sign of strength will cause most players to fold in these situations, allowing you to scoop the pot unimproved when you make a continuation bet on the flop. Keep in mind that it is easier to steal smaller pots when you sense weakness since players won’t feel invested in the pot. Dry flops like Ks-7h-3c are good to continuation bet bluff because there are fewer hands that will call your bet.

Knowing when not to pull the trigger is just as important. Here are three examples in which it is not a good idea to bluff in Texas Hold’em.

1. When a Jack or Ten comes on the flop. There are just too many ways this flop can help a variety of your opponent’s hands. To try a bluff when these cards come out on the flop is a mistake. The same can be said when the flop comes with other middling cards since these boards will hit calling ranges hard.

2. When many players are in the hand. Betting may drop 1 or 2 players but all it takes is 1 player to stay in for the bluff attempt not to be successful. Furthermore, a poor decision to bluff on the flop can lead to making bigger mistakes on later streets. You should realize that inexperienced players tend to be calling stations so if they have caught a piece of the board they won’t be folding and hence you should refrain from bluffing these players.

3. If an Ace has come on the flop, you should resist the urge to bluff. There are many players who will play any Ace combination, therefore it would be disastrous to try and represent an Ace when it hits the flop in multi-way pots with many players that could have connected with the flop.

I hope this article has been helpful in improving your poker game. Be sure to check out the many other poker articles to help you improve and get the most out of your poker game.